Monday, December 14, 2009

Iran: Students Protest with Detainees' Families

Translation of a report from Pezhvak website. Read the original in Persian - plus a list of 19 additional names of the detainees of the Student Day protests - here.

Students Support Protests by Detainees' Families
Pezhvak; Monday, December 14, 2009

According to reports received by Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran, the families of those arrested on 16 Azar / Dec. 7 [Student Day] held a gathering in front of the Revolutionary Court building [in Tehran], to protest the arrests of their loved ones and to demand their immediate and unconditional release.

On Monday, December 14, from 9:00 AM, more than 150 people, families of the detainees, most of whose relatives were arrested on December 7, gathered in protest in front of the Revolution Court to demand that their relatives' legal situations and whereabouts be made clear.

The Ministry of Intelligence, much like years past, in order to fabricate evidence against the students who were arrested before Student Day (Dec. 7) - in assaults by intelligence security forces against them in their homes and dormitories - in all the arrest warrants/papers has recorded their day of arrest as December 8th.

The detainees' families voiced particular protest over this action of the ministry, but the only response given by the Revolution Court's staff was, "This is of no concern to us, and if you have any complaints, take it to the investigating branch to which the files have been transferred," which meant that there was as usual no accounting for anybody. In the arrest papers of all the detainees the charges are indicated as 'acting against national security'.

All the families were outraged over the continued detention and lack of any news from their loved ones, and were cursing Khamenei and Ahmadinejad.

A group of students participated in the gathering in front of the Revolution Court, in solidarity with their arrested friends and in support of the detainees' families. They announced that they would continue their protests alongside the families of the detainees until all those under arrest are freed.
[...]
[Source: Human Rights and Democracy Activists in Iran]

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